


seaside dream

by kakaotok



Category: EXO (Band), Stray Kids (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Gen, I Created My Own AU Where This Is Canon, Platonic Relationships, THIS IS SELF-INDULGENT, Warning: Lowercaps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 19:59:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15781053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kakaotok/pseuds/kakaotok
Summary: and it’s really good, the atmosphere and the smell of the air. he wishes it could last forever.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was something written for my friend, who picked seokjin, kyungsoo, jeongin, taehyung, and jimin for me to write about LOL

he’s the one driving, because taehyung and jimin are goofing off in the trunk, kyungsoo’s dozed off in the seat beside him, and jeongin’s eyes are glued to the landscape whizzing by the window, mouth unconsciously dropped open as he scans the far-off cliffs and just where the horizon meets the ocean line.

the sun’s slowly beginning to set, but seeing as how they all planned to set up a campfire along the shore and then retire for the night in a few of the vacant rooms in a nearby motel, he doesn’t bother rushing. the truck’s heading along at an easy pace, fast enough for jimin’s bangs to be whipping around his head in the back, but not fast enough to drown out taehyung’s rush of adrenaline-filled laughter. his eyes dart to the rearview mirror, and through the small window behind jeongin, he can see the younger’s head tipped back, grinning unabashedly. the ring of mottled purple beneath his jawline has slowly starting to fade.

the truck grumbles as the asphalt melds seamlessly into gravel, but he finds a place to park near the beach, and kills the engine. he wakes up kyungsoo by nudging his shoulder, knowing that the man wakes up easily with a disgruntled attitude, and he slips his keys into the pocket of his swim trunks as jeongin excitedly slips out of the truck and slams the door shut.

“my bag, please,” he hears jeongin say patiently as he walks around the vehicle, feeling heat come off the surface from the long drive, and when he gets to the back to pop the cargo bed’s door open, he sees taehyung mess up jeongin’s hair good-naturedly.

“our high school boy, all grown up,” taehyung says in a babying manner. “first it’s senior year, then they’re out the real world before you know it!” they know not to mention his exams.

jimin smothers his laughter behind the long sleeve of his collared shirt as jeongin protests and tries to fix his hair. he helps jimin down first, and then taehyung, and jeongin eventually gets his duffle bag as he unloads the cargo bed. kyungsoo says nothing as he shuffles to his side, picking up an armful of items and beginning his trek to the shoreline, but the man usually doesn’t say anything for at least ten minutes after he wakes up.

“wow, it’s so beautiful here,” jeongin says, marvelling as he shields his eyes from the slowly-setting sun.

jimin’s chest seems to puff up with pride. “isn’t it? i used to come here all the time with my mom. better than the city, right?”

taehyung nudges his shoulder. “way better. you’ve been holding out on us.”

he locks the truck with a _chirp_ of his keys as they follow kyungsoo’s footsteps in the sand, and jimin and taehyung continue to talk.

“it’s not like we could come here after school,” jimin says. “oh, remind me, we have to stop by in the marketplace later. there’s a few things i want you guys to try.”

“street food?” jeongin says. with his braces, his words come out in a hissy slur, but his cousin glances at him fondly, and taehyung chuckles a bit. “how’s it different from the city?”

“it’s better,” jimin says. like it’s fact, as easy as breathing air, something that’s undeniably a law of the universe rather than his opinion after being brought up in the town for most of his early life. “it’s just different. you have to be there to experience it.”

here, taehyung notices the unfortunate load they’ve brought with them. “ah, hyung, let me carry the cooler,” he says as he takes the cooler from seokjin’s hands. “sorry, you should’ve said something earlier.”

“i can carry the towels, if you want,” jimin says. jeongin changes his grip on his own duffle bag so he can help unload the towels pressed against seokjin’s shoulders.

he shoots them all a grateful look, but they’re busy balancing their belongings and shaking the sand out of their sandals as the sidewalk sinks into sand, still warm from the day’s sun.

when they get to where kyungsoo’s reclining, he already has his sunglasses on and a sparkling water open in one hand, face expressionless as he faces the sun’s dying rays.

“hyung, you’re not going in the water?” jeongin asks him as taehyung and jimin wrestle out of their shirts and jeans. kyungsoo faces him with an imperceptibly softer look, even if the hard set in his brows hasn’t changed a bit.

“i’m good,” he says, and perfectly dodges taehyung’s flying shirt. the two buffoons are already racing each other to the water with loud shouts, shrieking when the spray of the water gets them as their feet hit the shallows. “i’ll be in the water in a bit. maybe.”

it’s a bald-faced lie, seeing as how kyungsoo hates getting sand everywhere and stepping on seaweed, especially when he’s going anywhere with taehyung, who will inevitably splash him in the face and receive a cold scowl in return, but jeongin nods and strips down.

he races jeongin to the water. taehyung and jimin are already ducking down to leap over the waves, and he lets a shout loose when the waves spray his exposed torso, the smell of salt quickly clinging to the inside of his nostrils. jeongin wheezes out his screams when taehyung takes him beneath the arms and slings him into the sea, jimin cups seawater in his hands and dumps it over taehyung’s head, and he can’t remember the last time he’s laughed this hard. the sun’s dipping below the horizon in the backdrop, painting them soft hues of orange and purple as they chase each other out of the water, and then stoop to collect seashells and turn overturned horseshoe crabs back onto their legs. taehyung looks sad every time the shoreline swallows up the crabs and recedes, leaving empty wet sand behind.

much later, when they’re shivering from the temperature of the water and kyungsoo’s had the foresight to start a fire before dusk, he’s passing around sandwiches from the cooler that taehyung’s sister made for their trip, wrapped painstakingly in deli paper. jimin takes two water bottles for himself and jeongin, then grabs two more for seokjin and taehyung. kyungsoo’s cracked open a can of cass, because he can and he knows seokjin’s also driving for the evening.

he takes a few bites of his sandwich, and then tips his head back to watch the stars twinkle in and out of existence. the rest of them devour their food, hungry after the swim and the drive.

“hyung, you brought the marshmallows, right?” jimin addresses kyungsoo.

“i’m the one who reminded you to bring the marshmallows,” kyungsoo snaps back, but there’s no bite in his voice, and he digs through their equipment to unearth an unopened bag of marshmallows. “i also brought the skewers. you’re welcome.”

“thank you, hyung,” taehyung says in serious formality, his facade breaking into giggles when kyungsoo bops him on the head with a metal skewer before handing it to him.

the crackling of the fire relaxes them all as the night goes on, smoke rising into the air with little wisps and followed by taehyung’s yelps every now and then as he sets his marshmallow on fire. jeongin whines about how the sugary stickiness is going to get stuck in his braces come the time they get to the motel to check in. jimin shares that the doctors have told him his lungs sound better. kyungsoo rants about his coworkers at the italian-asian fusion restaurant he recently got a job at.

and it’s really good, the atmosphere and the smell of the air. he wishes it could last forever.


	2. ending scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some notes i had written down in the doc i had this fic in where i might've wanted it to go, but that i didn't have time to expand on fully. warning on this chapter: character death.

this is a dream jin is having. it's why he doesn't speak to the rest of them in the dream; he's reflecting on his past experiences and melding them into a future all of them had dreamed of and spoken about before.

TRUE ENDING :  
\- the lot of them are still in their miserable circumstances. upon having the dream and reflecting, seokjin gets into touch with the rest of them.  
\- he visits jimin in the hospital daily, talking to him about the outside world and whatnot. he tells him about how the rest are doing, and jimin’s motivated to listen to his physical therapists and nurses. his body slowly becomes less fragile.  
\- taehyung and his sister live with him instead of their father when he extends the invitation to. taehyung’s father is arrested for public intoxication, and eventually domestic abuse. taehyung and jimin enroll in the same colleges for the following semester, and taehyung’s sister continues her education.  
\- kyungsoo is still distant with seokjin, after months of not speaking and just growing apart, but he slowly starts warming up to him again. he remembers to not be so distant and closed-off and to get in touch with his cousins.  
\- jeongin is visited, in the months leading up to his college entrance exams. he relaxes a whole bunch, visibly less stressed from hanging out with his cousins. they’re pretty sure he’s going to get into one of the top three unis, but they’re holding off on celebrating until jeongin takes them and his sats.  
\- seokjin makes visiting busan with his family a reality.

BAD ENDING :  
\- jimin’s wasting away in the hospital. when seokjin decides to visit him, he turns him away, and rejects all family contact. he says he’s forgotten all his memories. he’s already planned on dying alone.  
\- taehyung arrives at the hospital, brutally beaten. he’s separated from his father in the meantime, but he’s the house’s only source of income, so his sister drops out of high school to start working. when seokjin asks him if he needs help, all he gets is a question on why he didn’t help sooner. by this time, taehyung and his sister are too paranoid to leave their father.  
\- jeongin’s swamped with homework and entrance exam preparations, pressure on him to perform academically well from his parents, his peers, and society. he’s never home when seokjin tries visiting, no matter how early or late he comes. months later, seokjin finds out that jeongin had slept through his exams and subsequently jumped from his school rooftop that same day.  
\- seokjin only sees kyungsoo once, at jeongin’s funeral, where he cries. after that, kyungsoo shuts off his cell phone line and moves out of the country. no one knows where he went.


End file.
